The Importance Of Ethnic Friendships

    The practice of ethnic separation and segregation is common on every college and university campus. Since this practice has happened through history, it is remarkable that this has only been recognized recently as a true problem (Jacobs, 2). Segregation has hampered America as long as it has existed. Ethnicity and segregation was nearly the cause of this country splitting apart during the Civil War. Since then reformation and hard work has attempted to bring unity to this country. Though today, college students have regressed, university pupils are "standing by" their own and are not branching out to those who are unlike them in ethnicity. People in general, but more specifically college students

There are several different positive and unique aspects of intercultural relationships. Intercultural relationships allow individuals to understand other people of different cultures, ethnicities, gender and etc. It is interesting understanding other peoples beliefs as well as how they have lived there life’s. A positive aspect of intercultural relationships is the difference between the two people. I think it is interesting learning how other people think and how they were brought up. When you are in an intercultural relationship you get to understand how that person feels about certain situations that they have been through. You get to learn who that person truly is.

While L, Patton; B, Bridges; L, Flowers’s 2011 article EFFECTS OF GREEK AFFILIATION ON AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS' ENGAGEMENT, discusses that African American organizations presence on campus. Have exposed great leadership, entrepreneurship, encouraged academic achievement and promoted community service. The organizations, believe that if their

Even if the colleges are achieving their goals to get a diverse student body to the campuses, they fail to get those groups to interact.  In the article “The Lie About College Diversity,” Bruni’s interpretation on diversity explains that common college diversity programs are categorizing students together with similar backgrounds. Only a number of programs accept students to interact with fellow diversity students with different cultures, backgrounds or ethnic groups. These programs do not motivate students to reach out and share their thoughts with other groups because they could get rejected.  By learning other points of view and having diversity in the learning environment, it also helps individuals communicate better.  It also opens minds to ideas and concepts they might not have considered and provide them with

As an uncultured, whitewashed, charter school Indian, going into high school trying to find an extracurricular activity for me was a bit of a challenge. I was very unexposed to my culture, and had friends who showed me something I could be apart of. When I saw what it was, I turned the other way as fast as I could. We walked into the Canton cafeteria on a Tuesday after school, and I can truly say I’ve never seen so many Indians gathered in one place—on time—for the same cause. It honestly felt like being back in the motherland, and never do I want to go back there. I look ahead with the only two Indian friends I had standing at my sides and as I stand in awe, they go about greeting everyone and catching up. I’ve never felt so out of place, which was was weird considering everyone usually knew who I was, but I had no idea who any of these people were.

Supporting the success for diverse students on campus is just the beginning to make their experience as equal to that of the white community. Without positive campus attitude and without the recognition of what diversity brings to a school and a classroom, the system would not thrive and those of a different ethnic background will not be inclined to attend. The conclusion to Espinosa’s, Gaertner, and Orfields article is that college and university leaders

Does joining a minority organization affect the social, mental, and psychological being of minority students on predominantly white campuses?

The openness of talking race on campus not only reflects one group or one individual’s attitude on racial issues, but also reflects prevailing campus climates. More importantly, talking about race will also reveal the social climate on race talk nationwide. Other than the importance of race talk, having a campus with racial diversity also helps with achieving successful race talk among students. Orfield & Whitla (1999) found that the racially diverse campus climate benefits students’ subjective assessment by interacting with their peers from various racial groups. Other research also supported the idea of encouraging more racial interactions and race talk on campus. Living on-campus and participating in racial or cultural activities has a positive impact on students’ openness toward racial and cultural diversity (Sanner, Baldwin, Cannella, Charles, & Parker, 2010). For example, at University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), there is a program called Conversation Partners, which aims to match international students with local students to promote more interactions among students from different cultures. This program creates liberty to talk about race by helping people of different races establish friendships. Conversations about race at universities are reenacted daily in classrooms, places of employment, and any situation where race becomes the focus

As a member of several clubs and organizations, I have always valued the wide range of people you can find within the walls of my high school. If you walk into my Physics lab, you will find me collaborating with a dancer strongly involved in his cultural heritage and a volleyball player in the engineering academy. If you come to my Calculus class, you will see me calculating derivatives with a football player, a snowboarder, a National Honor Society officer, and a painter. The word “diversity” is often used to describe a cross-cultural population, but it is so much more than that. At Bartlett High School, students originate from hundreds of different cultures, with an abundance interests, and participate together in an assortment of activities.

Arizona State University has been deemed one of the most diverse universities because their ethnic diversity is described as above average. However, according to the racial demographics, more than half of the students at this university are Caucasian. In my opinion, providing a setting for students that is culturally diverse is one of the most important aspects of a college campus. While Arizona State University has somewhat diverse campuses, it seems as if minorities are outnumbered. Being an African American student of ASU has inspired me to want to be a part of projects and events that advocate for African Americans. More specifically, being an African American woman has been a huge inspiration. It has inspired me because I have heard

The focus of these organizations or groups can range from political, cultural, spiritual, fraternal, or career-based. Sutton and Kimbrough (2001) posits that there are many reasons why Black students join multicultural organizations: 1) to affirm their presence on campus, 2) to engage in out-of-class experiences, 3) to acknowledge a commitment to serve disenfranchised members of the community, 4) to foster a sense of "mattering", and 5) to provide opportunities to share their skills and talents with the Black community (p.

Without communication and interaction, students of different ethnicities have only decades of discrimination and racial profiling to apprehend each other by. A problem contributing to this is that, even though colleges have done a good job at gathering students of different ethnic groups, they have failed at giving them a diverse educational experience. This can only be done by establishing connectivity and interaction among them. This is a situation that must be addressed because it can lead to serious problems between student groups, both physical through confrontations among students and mental through verbal abuse. This dilemma is mentioned in Frank Bruni’s article when he says “Some students’ insistence not just that their viewpoints be

In terms of student social organizations, students who join predominantly White fraternities eliminate opportunities to experience diversity and thus continue to associate with students of their own likeness (DeStantis 19). Without inclusion of diversity, predominantly White fraternities illicitly promote discrimination against diversity to favor social hierarchical power that is reinforced through the societal promotion of White privilege.

Perhaps, a student would rather learn more about their ethnic heritage, thankfully, that’s what cultural groups specialize in. For example, the Association of Mexican American Students (AMAS). AMAS is one of the largest and most active of all the organizations at Angelo State University. This organization is a part of various activities from intramural sports to volunteer projects. In order to become a member of AMAS, a student does not have to be of Hispanic origin. The Association of Mexican American Students has two subgroups, mariposas and hermanos. Mariposas is a group that is specifically open to only girls while hermanos is for guys. Another aspect of AMAS is the fact that they are supported by the president of Angelo State University, Dr. May. Dr. AMAS holds their meetings at seven thirty on Wednesdays in the Nasworthy Suite in the University Center. AMAS is the perfect choice for students who wish to experience the Hispanic culture, get involved and be a part of a highly regarded

Administration partners with the student government and housing to bring the smaller communities together. People in charge of housing try to make each set of rooms diverse with different kind of people can come together. For example, my room has one black, one Asian and two white. But I never went out with any of my roommates or hung out with their friend's group. Housing also gets the Resident Assistants to hold events so that everyone in the floor can hang out. “ ‘Free ticket,’ the flyers read, and the ‘ticket’ entitles one to good company, free pizza, and drinks” (Nathan). Fliers are seen while you are walking through to your dorm inviting to fun times with a diverse group of people. The student government holds most of the events that everyone goes to. One time they held a huge free movie night in the auditorium in the student union. All kinds of people came to watch the movie and eat popcorn. Another time we had a college version of Coachella music festival. Usually, white people like dubstep music and techno but everyone was listening to the music playing with glow sticks and beach balls. But everyone isn't trying to meet new people, we have fun with the people we are already comfortable